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Foundation Pledge Brings Excellent Faculty

Excellent teaching by gifted faculty who take an interdisciplinary approach to their subject matter lies at the heart of Marlboro’s identity. However, the college has struggled over the years to maintain competitive salaries for faculty, as well as for staff. Student enrollment and the size of the faculty have both grown significantly since an all-time low in the late 1950s, but the challenge of maintaining competitive salaries has remained.

In honor of former President Ellen McCulloch-Lovell’s retirement from Marlboro in 2015, the Endeavor Foundation made a generous pledge of $300,000 over three years to increase the base pay of tenured and tenure-track faculty and to provide salary support for staff. As foundation president Julie Kidd wrote in the award letter, “[The faculty and staff] are a dedicated and hard-working group and central to sustaining the quality of Marlboro. I know how much honoring their efforts in this way will mean to you.”

The Endeavor Foundation made its final pledge payment this year, and Provost and Dean of Faculty Richard Glezjer can attest to the impact of the funds. As the person who oversees faculty hiring, Richard has chaired a number of search committees in recent years. Since 2015 when Endeavor’s first pledge payment was received, he has hired five first-rate faculty members in the areas of ceramics, painting, sociology, anthropology, and literature & writing.

“This funding from the Endeavor Foundation has had a tangible effect on our ability to attract new faculty and retain current faculty,” said Richard. “We still have progress to make, but our base salary is now in the same ball park as other colleges. Furthermore, the college has committed to maintaining this salary beyond the conclusion of the grant.” With this generous boost of encouragement from a tireless supporter, Marlboro will be attracting and retaining well-qualified faculty for many years to come.